Main menu

Category Archives: Menstruation:A Stigma

Fighting misogyny is an ordeal,more because we have been psychologically conditioned and fed since our birth.It’s only when women decide to resurrect their identity as an individual they clear the misogynist mental floss that have accumulated because of years of indoctrination. Having a “vagina” has been quite a shameful thing for women and talking about it a taboo.

Has anyone by any chance glanced upon the etymology of this word “Vagina” ?. Is “Vagina” another term that uphold patriarchal standard? The word “Vagina” has a Latin origin and means a “Sheath” or “scabbard”(Google for cogent evidence). So when you utter this word you actually reduce a female’s genitals to a hole.It appears more like a word that focus on heterosexual male pleasure.It reduces the female genitals to an opening which is just meant for men to penetrate and get pleasure.We are so abundantly covered in both body and mind that at times patriarchy and misogyny seems insuperable.Anatomically also the word vagina is incorrect. It would be appropriate to replace the word “Vagina” with “VULVA” which means “theexternalgenitals of thefemale,includingthelabiaclitoris,andvestibule of thevagina”,while vagina only refers to the passage that leads to vulva,vulva includes the clitoris,labia and the vagina opening.

When I came to know about the “Vagina” etymology I recounted the number of times I have used it when asserting my opinion as a feminist.Since,the harm has been already done,nothing can be done about it,but yes, next time when you are off to use the word “Vagina” consider the word “Vulva”.

Ohhhhh! Pause for a minute ,don’t allow that child or any child to enter the premises of your holy places,because if menstruating women are unholy ,the child is a reservoir of unholy and unclean stuff.In that way nobody should be allowed in ,because we all are unholy, and how can you build such places?I mean unholy hands can’t build holy places……

Why women menstruate ,yes religion has bizarre logic because women have to bear the brunt of Indra’s curse( rajaswala dosha)

In Hindu mythology it’s believed women got ‘Rajaswala Dosha’ (menstruation) when Lord Indra (the king of gods) severed the head of Vishwaroopacharya (the second teacher of the gods). Since Lord Indra killed a Brahmin he got ‘Brahmahatya dosha’. 3He got rid of it by distributing it amongst the prithvy (land), samudra(water),vriksha( tree )and stree (women folk) [10]. The women from that day on started menstruating every 28-30 days and got the ability to give ……..

Yes, as always we have to resort to self-mortification for the wrongdoings of men (whether from the mortal world or from surreal ones).The next debate stems from yogic philosophy….

In Indian yogic philosophy there are three gunas (or
qualities). These are tamas (black), rajas(red) and sattva
(white). Anything that is an excretion from the body i.e.
sweat, blood, tears etc. are toxic and are hence classified
under tamas. Tamas is darkness or obscurity. Hence for
traditional Hindus touching a menstruating woman is
considered a ‘Tamasic’ (inappropriate) act.

Menstruation is stigmatized in our society.I am not going to discuss about the sexist rituals that are to be followed when a girls menstruates, because most of us are pretty aware of that. Since, our first period we are given this indirect message that its a shame to menstruate.Take a look at the way the advertisements are pictured.Still they would use a blue color liquid to show absorptive capacity of the sanitary pads.Recently,Whisper came up with the slogan in their advertisement “She touched the pickle”,in order to do away with the belief that if a menstruating girl touches pickle it rots .There are many stigmas related to menstruation in our country, and I don’t know whether it’s the fear of ostracism or ill conceived god or religion that women in our country are helplessly following them.
We all have to understand this plain and simple fact that “a menstruating women is a healthy women” , and all stigma and taboo encircling menstruation are a result of patriarchy and misogyny.Think about it can any biological process be unclean ,and here we are talking about a process which is the reason for human evolution ? Could any god create something for his own child which would render her impure even for a minute?

The menstrual cycle is the cycle of natural changes that occurs in the uterus and ovary as an essential part of making sexual reproduction possible.Its timing is governed by endogenous (internal) biological cycles. The menstrual cycle is essential for the production of eggs, and for the preparation of the uterus for pregnancy.

(Wikipedia:Menstrual cycle)

At the onset of puberty both boys and girls experience physical and biological changes ,then how this change can make somebody unclean and the other more powerful?It presents a clear image of male glorification and female subjugation.If birth is necessary for evolution then how can menses be impure?Can a woman beget children without menstruating?

I am not going to state any religious verses,which try hard to justify this unholy practice of discrimination.We all have read plethora of articles about that and any addition will just be repetition.As a theist i believed in god and divinity ,as an atheist i believe in myself and humanity.A discriminating god and religion cannot build a sound community.We as women need to introspect our attitudes towards our bodies and ourselves. The extent of ignorance regarding menstruation has been documented in a recent study by sanitary napkin maker Whisper and market researcher IPSOS. The survey was conducted among more than 1,100 respondents from across India.And the result shows that the stranglehold of custom and superstition is not easing even in urban areas….

Reference:Quartz India

Still menstruation is a taboo in our society and the sad part it ,women rather than doing away with such notions are the carriers of it from generation to generation.The research by IPSOS also covered 200 men and almost all of them wanted the embarrassment and secrecy to end.The rule is simple if we want to stop others from practicing discrimination we have to stop discriminating against ourselves. Women need to respect and love their body, we have to break free from such notions.We need to embrace ourselves, to nurture our soul and body, their is nothing impure or unholy about periods,because we don’t have what we call Impure or Unholy bodies ,but just unholy minds…..

Ever wondered why Draupadi is not looked up as a role model ? Why Sita only befits the criteria of being a role model ? Why Indians are uncomfortable in considering Draupadi as a role model,especially the men in our country?Why Sita appeals more to them.

The answer is very simple because Sita don’t pose a threat to the misogynist society.Before you jump to conclude that i am demeaning Sita,pause for a moment.I have no intentions of doing so ,neither i consider Sita to be a bad role model,because that entire story was a part of a time when things were not this ugly .Even demons like Ravana didn’t outrage the modesty of Sita without her consent.But she can’t be an appropriate role model in today’s world, where most men are Duryodhan and Dushashan. Duryodhan is a classic example of male chauvanism and patriarchy, he didn’t even hesitate for a moment when it comes to disrobing Draupadi, but when his mother asks him to instruct his brother Dushashan to do the same with her,he is fraught with anger.This is the case with Indian men today,they hold their mothers and sisters on a high divine pedestal,but when to comes to rest of the female society,they don’t even shudder for a moment with guilt and shame.

The present is replete with instances where women have been robbed of their basic rights and dignity ,but unfortunately even in such situations people choose Sita to be the perfect role model. Draupadi has always made men uncomfortable because she is not passive,she is fiery.She is capable enough to question the vague values of the society.So how could a society which survives and thrives at the cost of female rights even consider such a women.She is often brushed aside as a women who had five husbands,which is the most inappropriate thing.Even Karna called her a prostitute on the same grounds.Isn’t it a reflection of the double standards of the ethical code governing the society.A king at that time was allowed to marry as many women as he wanted,even virgin maids were given as gift to friends but never ever a King or man was given such titles,only women were subject to such titles.

Today women stand on the edge of such situations which are highly detrimental to their identity and well being ,and if they don’t answer the call they will be dumped into dark dungeons of misogyny for time unknown.It’s time to find the missing Draupadi’s of India.

All said and done but what has altered so far? Scads of activists have been fighting for women’s rights but nothing has changed ,despondency scuppers since eternity to spifflicate every hope or move .What’s wrong are men insuperable heroes of oppression or women are enormously frail or uncoerced strivers of patriarchy?The so called modern ladder of emancipation of the female folk witness women either on the lowest or highest rung but hardly anybody in between for those in between the two extremes are in reality emancipated for they are the one who have actually crushed the trammels of pariarchal obeisance which stitches up women both at the upper and lower rung.

Women at the lower rung are blasphemed the most for they are sensed to be the perpetrators of misogyny and patriarchy since ages.Okay i too hold on to that thought, that their excessive dependence and adherence to the male community fettered women for centuries .They wore innumerable ornaments for the eudaemonia of their husbands ,fasted for their husband and sons,blamed other women for the infidelity of men but never the men involved.They crushed every hope for liberation and stifled the women who dared to rebel against such malpractices .

But wait ! Are we less decomposed when compared with such women who reeks of patriarchy to the core?Will a black dot just do enough to show our remontration? Do we really respect other women? Our prejudices play a very defining role than our rationale.We respect other girls till the time they subscribe to our ideology if they don’t we take not much time to call them bitches ,sluts ,whore etc etc.A girl can best be described as SEXY, HOT (yes other few stupid spellings like hawt,haut ) or the other extreme tacky , Behanji or other such synonyms .Is acceptance so damn crucial that we are ready to barter our identity for that? I REMEMBER VERY DISTINCLY THAT I WAS CALLED A BEHANJI IN MY GRADUATION DAYS FOR NOT HAVING A BOYFRIEND OR SIMPLY BECAUSE I DIDN’T LIKE TAWDRY HUMOUR….OR FOR SURE CALLED A STRUMPET BY AUNTIES FOR WALKING DOWN THE STREETS WITH MY BOYFRIEND WHEN I HAD ONE ….AHHH! THOSE DISDAINFUL EYES I STILL REMEMBER 🙂 ) Everything considered i firmly believe nobody can plump for misogyny as briglty as women can.It’s daunting to witness using the same misogynistic invectives used by guys and mind you this all comes from the so called educated indian female brigade….And one could be shocked to death to see the same set of girls adhering to the traditional rituals post marriage like fasting for the long lives of their husband ,wearing chudas with hot pants..All in all the point i want to make is women in our country who are up the ladder act more weird when comapred with those who are illiterate and ignorant.We seriously don’t have dearth of rights we never had one but realisation is something we need desperately rather than acceptance or rights .

Do you really feel that girls in our society are emancipated ? Or is it just a chimera? For i still see so many girls acceding to all the preposterous and erratic beliefs concocted by the male dominated society.Personally i feel that these girls are to be blamed for fueling the sweeping comments about the gender.Recently i came to know that one of my cousin declined to espouse a girl because she was corpulent.I mean it’s concedable that the girl was not at par with his standards,bewildered to know what followed the rejection.

My cousin didn’t actually said a complete no,but gave one month time to the girl and asked her to pull down some weight in this one month,and after one month he would meet the girl again.Isn’t it inane and incongruous and i was all the more baffled to know that the girl subscribed to this demand.What it exhibits?A girl who is competent,independent but still a slave to the male chauvinistic beliefs?What type of emancipation is this?

Do you feel embarrassed when while flipping channels on your television you encounter a commercial advertising sanitary napkins?

Are you one among those who are embarrassed to talk about menstruation publicly ?

Yes,for years like millions of women in India i considered menstruation a taboo.Something that should be kept hidden as it is embarrassing and degrading.But of lately,my mind refuses to succumb to these inconceivable beliefs.

In the Hindu faith, women are prohibited from participating in normal life while menstruating. Women are considered unclean during menstruation.

~women can’t cook

~ Can’t sojourn temples,

~physical intimacy is to be avoided,

I plainly fail to comprehend why is menstruation considered a taboo in our society? Menstruation is a normal, natural female physiological function.Menstruation is the monthly bleeding of non-pregnant women of childbearing age. To me it seems to stem from some misogynistic individuals, who skilfully used it to disregard women.